Fresh charges framed in blogger Rajib murder case

A Dhaka court on Thursday framed charges afresh against eight accused in the case filed about the murder of blogger Ahmed Rajeeb Haider. The court also fixed May 27 to record the depositions of the witnesses.
Judge Syeed Ahmed of Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 passed the order, after hearing the submission of the public prosecutor. Earlier in the day, Special public prosecutor of the tribunal Md Mahbubur Rahman filed a petition in which he urged the tribunal to frame fresh charge, as the spot the murder was not mentioned clearly in the previous documents.Of the accused, Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani was indicted under Sections 302 and 107 of the Penal Code while others were indicted under Sections 302 and 34 of the Penal Code.
On March 18, Judge Ruhul Amin of the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court passed an indictment order against Mufti Jasim, chief of militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team and seven students of North South University, who were made accused in the case.
On May 12, the case was shifted to the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 from Dhaka’s Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court for quick trial. A copy of the gazette was sent to the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 from the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court in connection with the transfer of the case. Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the gazette notification for transferring the case documents of Rajib murder case to the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3.
Rajeeb, known as Thaba Baba in the bloggers’ community, was hacked to death on February 15, 2013 near his Pallabi home, only 10 days after the movement at Shahbagh demanding the death penalty for the 1971 war criminals and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student body Islami Chhatra Shibir begun. A day after the murder, the victim’s father Nazim Uddin filed a murder case with Pallabi Police Station.
Jasim was arrested on September 2, 2013. He gave a confessional statement to a court admitting that the students inspired by his sermons might have killed Rajeeb.
“Instigator” Jasim and his six followers, all are expelled students of North South University. He pleaded not guilty and demanded justice. Another accused Rana, also a former NSU student, is currently on the run.
The accused students are “planner” Redwanul Azad Rana (fugitive), Faisal Bin Nayeem alias Dip, Maksudul Hassan alias Anik, Ehsan Reza Rumman, Nayeem Sikder alias Irad, Nafiz Imtiaz and Sadman Yasir Mahmud. Of them, Rana is also a prime suspect in the blogger Avijit Roy murder. The DMP recently announced a Tk 5 lakh bounty to help police arrest Rana. Earlier the DB of police sent letters to Immigration Police and the BGB to stop him from leaving the country. – Court Correspondent